Travel pillow with removable repositionable rod

ABSTRACT

A customizable travel pillow and a segmented rod are provided. The customizable travel pillow includes a cushion portion having an upper half and a lower half and a repositionable bendable rod. The repositionable bendable rod is removably nested between the upper half and the lower half of the cushion portion and retains its position until repositioned. The repositionable bendable rod causes the cushion portion to retain a shape. The segmented rod has multiple rigid segments, with bendable joints between the segments, for use with a travel pillow cushion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to travel pillows and, more particularly,to repositionable travel pillows.

A wide variety of small travel pillows have been developed forpassengers traveling in all types of vehicles, including but not limitedto airplanes, cars, buses, and trains. Travel pillows can be veryuncomfortable if they do not fit properly around a traveler's neck. Theyalso are of little use if a traveler wants to rest in a position otherthan sitting up straight. Existing travel pillows are not customizableto a traveler's needs.

As can be seen, there is a need for a customizable travel pillow. Thepresent invention provides a customizable travel pillow with aremovable, repositionable, segmented rod. The repositionable segmentedrod may be removably inserted in between upper and lower pillow halves.The removable rod serves to hold the shape of the pillow and may beremoved if the rod is deemed to be too hard for comfort.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, a customizable travel pillow isprovided comprising a cushion portion having an upper half and a lowerhalf and a repositionable bendable rod. The repositionable bendable rodis removably nested between the upper half and the lower half of thecushion portion and wherein the repositionable bendable rod retains itsposition until repositioned, thereby causing the cushion portion toretain a shape.

In another aspect of the present invention, a segmented rod is providedfor use with a travel pillow cushion, comprising a plurality of rigidsegments with bendable joints therebetween.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdrawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a travel pillow according to anembodiment of the invention, shown in use;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof, showing that the travel pillow maybend from a straight position to an arcuate position;

FIG. 3 is a semi-exploded view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view thereof, taken along line 5-5 from FIG. 2;and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the inventive travelpillow.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplatedmodes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. Thedescription is not to be taken in a limiting sense but is made merelyfor the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention,since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Broadly, one embodiment of the present invention is a travel pillow witha removable repositionable rod that keeps a bend position determined bythe user. In some embodiments, the repositionable rod may have aplurality of segments analogous to vertebrae. The travel pillow may betubular, comprising a top half and a bottom half, each having asemicircular cross section. Preferably, the pillow may be manufacturedfrom memory foam. The travel pillow may have a cavity therein toaccommodate the repositionable rod.

Referring to FIGS. 1-6, FIG. 1 illustrates a travel pillow 10 accordingto a first embodiment of the invention, shown in use.

As shown in FIG. 2, the travel pillow 10 comprises a top half 12 and abottom half 14. The top half 12 may have an upper cavity 16 and thebottom half 14 may have a lower cavity 18, as shown in FIG. 3. The uppercavity 16 and the lower cavity 18 may form a nest to receive therepositionable rod 20.

FIG. 3 illustrates that a repositionable rod 20 may nest within the areadefined by the top cavity 16 and the bottom cavity 18, as shown in FIG.5. The repositionable rod 20 stays in the shape to which it is bent,keeping the pillow 10 in whatever position the user desires.

FIGS. 2 and 4 illustrate that the travel pillow 10 may bend from astraight position to whatever curved position the user finds desirable.When the repositionable rod 20 is inserted into the pillow 10, the rod20 retains the pillow 10 shape until the user repositions the pillow 10.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a travel pillow 22 according to asecond embodiment of the invention, taken along the same plane as thatof FIG. 5. A repositionable rod 28 may nest in the bottom half 24 of thepillow within a bottom cavity 26 and may keep the pillow 22 in a curvedor straight position as desired by the user.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates toexemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A customizable travel pillow comprising: a. a cushion portion having an upper half and a lower half, and b. a repositionable bendable rod, wherein the repositionable bendable rod is removably nested between the upper half and the lower half of the cushion portion and wherein the repositionable bendable rod retains its position until repositioned, thereby causing the cushion portion to retain a shape.
 2. The customizable travel pillow of claim 1, wherein the cushion portion is tubular and the upper half and the lower half of the cushion portion each have a semicircular cross section.
 3. The customizable travel pillow of claim 1, wherein the upper half and the lower half of the cushion portion have a cavity therebetween to accommodate the repositionable bendable rod.
 4. The customizable travel pillow of claim 1, wherein the cushion portion comprises memory foam.
 5. The customizable travel pillow of claim 1, wherein the repositionable bendable rod comprises a plurality of segments.
 6. A segmented rod for use with a travel pillow cushion, comprising a plurality of rigid segments with bendable joints therebetween.
 7. The segmented rod of claim 6, wherein the segmented rod is removably nested between an upper half and a lower half of the travel pillow cushion. 